999 California Street, Nob Hill
The Mark Hopkins hotel
Ross, the mob witness in Bullitt’s care, is first spotted by the bad guys in the lobby of the Mark Hopkins.
A working hotel at the top of Nob Hill. The lobby is open to guests and visitors.
San Francisco · 1968Five crests · one Highland Green Mustang
Bullitt
The most famous chase in film runs over real hills, in an order no driver could follow. Drive it cut by cut, and see where it cheats. Above the city: McQueen and Bisset in 1968, Vaughn in 1964.
Parked at the foot of Potrero Hill. Blip it.
Nine cuts · Mission to San Bruno Mountain
Drive the cut.
The chase builds slowly south of the Mission: Bullitt parks under the elevated freeway near a carwash at Marin Street and Bayshore, and the Charger pair arrives. From there the edit builds a route out of 6 real places. Shift up through it in the order you see it on screen.
- Cut
- 1/9
- Cheat meter
- 0.0 km
- Beetles
- 0
- Hubcaps lost
- 0
DriveUnder the freeway
He parks by the carwash, sees the Charger and fastens his belt.
Cut 1. The Charger pulls in behind him.
Cesar Chavez Street at York Street, Mission
Cesar Chavez and York Street
The chase builds slowly south of the Mission: Bullitt parks under the elevated freeway near a carwash at Marin Street and Bayshore, and the Charger pair arrives. Bullitt fastens his safety belt, turns south on Bayshore, then heads north on Cesar Chavez Street, U-turns at the triangular service station at Precita Avenue and turns south up York Street. The Googie-style carwash beneath Highway 101 is gone. At Peralta Avenue the pursuers lose the Mustang and carry on up York.
A busy junction on a main road. Walk up York Street from Cesar Chavez; Army Street is now Cesar Chavez Street.
Where we read it
Cheat meter: straight-line kilometres between places on our map, counted only where the film cuts to somewhere it could not have driven. The film shows the same green Beetle at least four times; where it turns up here is our game, not a shot list.
Where we read it
The chase lasts 10 minutes 53 seconds; the green Volkswagen Beetle appears again and again and belonged to one of the stunt team; the Charger seemed to have about 16 hubcaps.
The same Beetle appears at least four times in the final cut. Detour’s roadbook retraces the route in 20 miles.
Detour #319: Chasing Bullitt on the streets of San Francisco
Filming the chase took three weeks; the director asked for about 81 mph, and the cars at times passed 110 mph. The city refused to close the Golden Gate Bridge.
Car 559
The car in the garage.
1968
Warner Bros.
The studio bought two 1968 Mustang GT fastbacks in Highland Green, with 390 V8s. Hagerty counts three Mustangs and three Chargers in all.
1 of 7
Where we read it
1968, Warner Bros.: The studio bought two 1968 Mustang GT fastbacks in Highland Green, with 390 V8s. Hagerty counts three Mustangs and three Chargers in all.
1968, Car 558: The stunt car was damaged during filming and sent to a scrapyard. It turned up in Mexico in 2016 and was authenticated as the lost car.
1974, A detective: Car 559 went to a Warner Bros. employee, then to a detective, who advertised it in Road & Track in 1974.
Goodwood Road & Racing: Original Bullitt Mustang sells for $3.4 million at auction (13 January 2020)Wikipedia: Bullitt
1974, Robert Kiernan: A New Jersey man, Robert Kiernan, bought it and kept it for about 40 years. He refused to sell it, even to Steve McQueen.
Goodwood Road & Racing: Original Bullitt Mustang sells for $3.4 million at auction (13 January 2020)
1984, The garage: The family used it as a daily driver until the clutch failed in 1984. Then it sat in a garage.
Goodwood Road & Racing: Original Bullitt Mustang sells for $3.4 million at auction (13 January 2020)
2018, Detroit: Restored just enough to drive, it was unveiled at the Detroit auto show in early 2018, beside Ford’s third Bullitt Edition, then ran at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Goodwood Road & Racing: Original Bullitt Mustang sells for $3.4 million at auction (13 January 2020)
2020, Kissimmee: On 10 January 2020 it sold at Mecum’s auction in Kissimmee, Florida, for $3.4 million, the most ever paid for a Mustang. Wikipedia gives the total as $3.7 million.
Goodwood Road & Racing: Original Bullitt Mustang sells for $3.4 million at auction (13 January 2020)Wikipedia: Bullitt
Robert Kiernan’s car went back on show still wearing its scuffed paint. Ford’s own Bullitt editions came in 2001, 2008 and for 2019 and 2020.
Where we read it
Ford released Bullitt editions of the Mustang in 2001, 2008 and for the 2019 and 2020 model years.
The car was restored to drivability, not restored to new, for 2018.
Goodwood Road & Racing: Original Bullitt Mustang sells for $3.4 million at auction (13 January 2020)
Nob Hill · a short walk
A lobby, a terrace, a flat on Taylor.
The hotel and the cathedral are 290 metres apart in a straight line, and Bullitt’s front door is a few blocks down Taylor Street.
1051 Taylor Street, Nob Hill
Grace Cathedral
On the cathedral terrace, the politician Chalmers (Robert Vaughn) serves a writ of habeas corpus on the police chief, Bennet.
A working cathedral. The terrace and steps are on Taylor Street; check the cathedral’s own site for opening times and services.
Where we read it
Taylor Street at Clay Street, Nob Hill
Bullitt’s apartment
Bullitt lives at 1153–1157 Taylor Street, on the corner of Clay: a three-storey frame building of 1906 that is unchanged. Across Clay Street, at VJ Groceries, he stocks up on TV dinners.
Private homes. Look from the pavement only, and keep it brief.
Where we read it
Across Clay StreetTV dinners
An empty bag outside VJ Groceries.
IHG
InterContinental Mark Hopkins
999 California Street, Nob Hill
A filming location: the Nob Hill hotel where Ross is first spotted in the lobby. Grace Cathedral and Bullitt’s Taylor Street corner are a short walk away.
Check roomsNorth Beach · Cow Hollow
An informant, and coffee with Cathy.
504 Broadway at Kearny Street, North Beach
Enrico’s, Broadway
Bullitt meets his informant at Enrico’s, 504 Broadway at Kearny Street. Enrico’s has closed; the sandwich bar Naked Lunch took over the premises. He talks with the informant again at Little Szechuan, on the opposite corner of Broadway and Kearny.
The corner building still stands on Broadway. Enrico’s itself has closed; see whatever is there now from the street.
Where we read it
2030 Union Street at Buchanan, Cow Hollow
The Coffee Cantata (now Flores)
Bullitt and his girlfriend Cathy relax at the Coffee Cantata, 2030 Union Street at Buchanan. The café is now Flores, a Mexican restaurant. Jacqueline Bisset played Cathy.
Now Flores, a Mexican restaurant, on Union Street’s run of shops and cafés.
Where we read it
The case file
A hotel, a hospital, a runway.
The Embarcadero at Howard Street, beneath the Bay Bridge
The Daniels Hotel site
Ross is installed for safety in the Daniels Hotel, on the Embarcadero at Howard Street, opposite Pier 18 and beneath the Bay Bridge. The hotel and the pier are gone. Two hit men shoot Bullitt’s partner and the witness at the Daniels Hotel.
Nothing of the hotel is left. Walk the Embarcadero promenade under the Bay Bridge instead.
Where we read it
1001 Potrero Avenue, Mission
San Francisco General Hospital
San Francisco General Hospital has stood at 1001 Potrero Avenue since 1872; in the film the ambulance pulls up at the emergency entrance on 22nd Street. Bullitt chases one of the hit men through the hospital, then hunts for him heading east on 22nd Street. Real doctors and nurses played the emergency-room staff; the doctor in the coloured smock was the anaesthesiologist Dick Barber. The brick building seen in the film was replaced in 1973 for earthquake safety; the view west down 22nd Street has not changed.
A working hospital and trauma centre. Look from 22nd Street and Potrero Avenue; do not go in to sightsee.
Where we read it
SFO, San Mateo County
San Francisco International Airport
The final shoot-out is at SFO, where Bullitt tries to stop Ross leaving the country. Mayor Joseph Alioto helped the production get permission to film at the airport, which meant more than two weeks of night shoots.
You will probably arrive here. The terminals are public; the runways are not.
Where we read it
Evidence 1 of 3: The Daniels Hotel site.
17 October 1968 · Radio City Music Hall
The people behind the wheel.
Steve McQueen in a 1968 publicity photograph for The Thomas Crown Affair. Unknown photographer · Public domain Steve McQueenFrank Bullitt
Jacqueline Bisset in a 1968 publicity photograph. 20th Century Fox · Public domain Jacqueline BissetCathy
Robert Vaughn in September 1964, four years before he played Chalmers. NBC Television · Public domain Robert VaughnChalmers
Peter Yates, the director, in January 1985. William Randolph Prescott · CC BY-SA 4.0 Peter YatesDirector
McQueen drove the close-ups himself; Carey Loftin, Bud Ekins and Loren Janes did the fast stunts, and Bill Hickman drove a Charger.
Peter Yates had trained as an actor at RADA and worked as a works manager at H W Motors before he made films. Bullitt was his third.
Frank P. Keller won the Oscar for editing. The film opened at Radio City Music Hall on 17 October 1968, and went into the National Film Registry in 2007.
Where we read it
McQueen drove the close-ups; Loftin, Ekins and Janes the high-speed stunts; Hickman a Charger; Keller’s editing Oscar; the Radio City opening on 17 October 1968; the National Film Registry in 2007; Bisset as Cathy.
Robert Vaughn plays the politician Chalmers.
Yates trained at RADA, worked as a works manager at H W Motors, and Bullitt was his third picture, after Robbery (1967).
Park it here.
Where it is now
13 places you can visit, from the Mission to San Bruno Mountain. Bullitt’s flat is a private home, so it is named but not pinned.
Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A busy junction on a main road. Walk up York Street from Cesar Chavez; Army Street is now Cesar Chavez Street.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A quiet residential crossing on a steep hill. Stand on the pavement; people live here.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A North Beach crossing near the cable car line. Watch the traffic; Chestnut climbs steeply to the west.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Ina Coolbrith Park sits on the slope here, with a view of downtown. Take the stairs; do not try the hill at speed.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A residential bend near the foot of Russian Hill, a few blocks above the bay.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A fast open road over San Bruno Mountain, south of the city. Drive it; there is little room to stop.
Cesar Chavez Street at the Hampshire Street footbridge, a block from York Street, August 2020. Pi.1415926535 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Cesar Chavez Street at York Street, Mission
Cesar Chavez and York Street
The chase builds slowly south of the Mission: Bullitt parks under the elevated freeway near a carwash at Marin Street and Bayshore, and the Charger pair arrives.
A busy junction on a main road. Walk up York Street from Cesar Chavez; Army Street is now Cesar Chavez Street.
Where we read it
Downtown San Francisco from Potrero Hill, February 2020. Pi.1415926535 · CC BY-SA 3.0 Kansas Street at 20th Street, Potrero Hill
Kansas and 20th Street, Potrero Hill
On Kansas Street at 20th, Bullitt’s Mustang reappears in the Charger’s rear-view mirror, and the pursuers become the pursued.
A quiet residential crossing on a steep hill. Stand on the pavement; people live here.
Where we read it
Chestnut Street at Powell, North Beach, looking up to Russian Hill, April 2013. Patrick Nouhailler's… · CC BY-SA 3.0 Columbus Avenue at Chestnut Street, North Beach
Columbus Avenue and Chestnut Street
The chase jumps to North Beach: Bullitt follows the Charger east on Filbert at Taylor, pausing for cable cars at Mason Street.
A North Beach crossing near the cable car line. Watch the traffic; Chestnut climbs steeply to the west.
Where we read it
Downtown from Ina Coolbrith Park, on the slope at Taylor and Vallejo, July 2021. Frank Schulenburg · CC BY-SA 4.0 Taylor Street at Vallejo Street, Russian Hill
Taylor Street from Vallejo
Both cars bounce down Taylor Street from Vallejo, across Green and Union, then turn left onto Filbert.
Ina Coolbrith Park sits on the slope here, with a view of downtown. Take the stairs; do not try the hill at speed.
Where we read it
Larkin Street running north to the bay, with Alcatraz beyond, April 2013. Patrick Nouhailler's… · CC BY-SA 3.0 Larkin Street at Francisco Street, Russian Hill
Larkin Street at Francisco
The cars race north on Larkin to the bend where it becomes Francisco Street; the Charger scrapes the wall and loses a hubcap.
A residential bend near the foot of Russian Hill, a few blocks above the bay.
Where we read it
Guadalupe Canyon Parkway from San Bruno Mountain, with San Francisco behind, May 2019. Dicklyon · CC BY-SA 4.0 Guadalupe Canyon Parkway, San Bruno Mountain, Brisbane
Guadalupe Canyon Parkway, Brisbane
From Francisco Street the cars reappear a few miles south of the city on Guadalupe Canyon Parkway, heading for Brisbane.
A fast open road over San Bruno Mountain, south of the city. Drive it; there is little room to stop.
Where we read it
Stay
Sleep where Ross was spotted.
The Nob Hill hotel from the film, a walk from the cathedral and Taylor Street.
IHG
InterContinental Mark Hopkins
999 California Street, Nob Hill
A filming location: the Nob Hill hotel where Ross is first spotted in the lobby. Grace Cathedral and Bullitt’s Taylor Street corner are a short walk away.
Check roomsGo there
Most of it is kerbside.
The chase streets are residential; drive them slowly or go with a tour.
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San Francisco film-location tours
San Francisco
Live marketplace results for film-location tours of San Francisco. Check each itinerary: most cover several films, and the chase streets are residential.
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San Francisco classic-car tours
San Francisco
Live marketplace results for tours of the city in classic cars. None follows the chase exactly; Detour’s 20-mile roadbook does, if you would rather drive it yourself.
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On film, this autumn.
A 58th-anniversary screening on the Warner Bros. backlot, and a 35mm print in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Checking current event dates…
Take it home
The posters, a life, the score.
Original 1968 posters from our store, a McQueen biography and Lalo Schifrin’s score.
Printed Originals · Our poster store
Bullitt (1968) — US one-sheet
The original 1968 US one-sheet, 27 × 41 inches, rolled after being folded. Near mint.
In stock
View poster
Printed Originals · Our poster store
Bullitt (1968) — Italian 2-fogli
The big Italian poster, 39 × 55 inches, with art by Michel Landi. Near mint.
In stock
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Printed Originals · Our poster store
Bullitt (1968) — Japanese B2
The Japanese release poster, 19.7 × 27.8 inches, rolled. Mint.
In stock
View poster
Bookshop.org UK · Ad / affiliate
Steve McQueen: A Biography
Marc Eliot · Three Rivers Press
Marc Eliot’s biography of Steve McQueen.
Find the book
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Bullitt: original motion picture soundtrack
Lalo Schifrin · LP, Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, 1968
Lalo Schifrin’s jazz score on the original 1968 US LP.
Live marketplace search · listings and condition change
Find a copyDates, prices, rooms and stock change: confirm with the provider before you travel or buy. A stay or tour is described as a filming location only where the card says so.
The glovebox
Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.
14 of 14 places · 15 of 15 Moments
Cesar Chavez and York Street
Cesar Chavez Street at York Street, Mission
The safety belt
Bullitt parks under the freeway, sees the Charger arrive and fastens his safety belt.
The U-turn on York
A U-turn at Precita Avenue and up York Street, where the Charger loses him.
Kansas and 20th Street, Potrero Hill
Kansas Street at 20th Street, Potrero Hill
In the mirror
The Mustang reappears in the Charger’s mirror on Kansas Street, and the hunters become the hunted.
Columbus Avenue and Chestnut Street
Columbus Avenue at Chestnut Street, North Beach
Up Chestnut
The Charger swings left up Chestnut Street and the high-speed run begins.
Taylor Street from Vallejo
Taylor Street at Vallejo Street, Russian Hill
Down Taylor, twice
Both cars bounce down Taylor Street from Vallejo; the same stretch is shown twice.
Larkin Street at Francisco
Larkin Street at Francisco Street, Russian Hill
The hubcap
The Charger scrapes the wall at Larkin and Francisco and loses a hubcap.
Guadalupe Canyon Parkway, Brisbane
Guadalupe Canyon Parkway, San Bruno Mountain, Brisbane
The gas station
The Charger leaves the parkway, hits a gas station near North Hill Drive and burns.
The Mark Hopkins hotel
999 California Street, Nob Hill
Spotted in the lobby
Ross is first spotted by the bad guys in the Mark Hopkins lobby.
Grace Cathedral
1051 Taylor Street, Nob Hill
The writ on the terrace
Chalmers serves a writ of habeas corpus on the police chief on the cathedral terrace.
Bullitt’s apartment
Taylor Street at Clay Street, Nob Hill
TV dinners
Bullitt crosses Clay Street from his apartment and stocks up on TV dinners.
Enrico’s, Broadway
504 Broadway at Kearny Street, North Beach
The informant
Bullitt meets his informant at Enrico’s on Broadway.
The Coffee Cantata (now Flores)
2030 Union Street at Buchanan, Cow Hollow
Coffee with Cathy
Bullitt and Cathy relax at the Coffee Cantata on Union Street.
The Daniels Hotel site
The Embarcadero at Howard Street, beneath the Bay Bridge
The Daniels Hotel
Ross is hidden at the Daniels Hotel, where the hit men find him.
San Francisco General Hospital
1001 Potrero Avenue, Mission
The hospital
The ambulance reaches the emergency entrance on 22nd Street, and Bullitt chases a hit man through the hospital.
San Francisco International Airport
SFO, San Mateo County
The airport
The final shoot-out on the airfield at SFO, filmed over more than two weeks of nights.